Tatum's 40 points sets new record, powers C's to 126-120 win vs. Magic originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are still undefeated.
After beating the Miami Heat on Friday night, the Celtics went into Orlando and defeated the young Magic 126-120 at Amway Center on Saturday night. The Celtics are 3-0 to begin a season for the first time since 2009-10. They are also the first team in the Eastern Conference to win three games.
The Celtics didn't play too well defensively against the Magic. Orlando shot 47.4 percent from the floor and 44.1 percent from 3-point range. However, the C's were able to overcome the Magic's hot shooting thanks to Jayson Tatum, who scored a game-high 40 points.
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Here are three takeaways from Celtics-Magic.
1) Jayson Tatum makes history
Jayson Tatum is just on another level right now.
The Celtics forward started this game red hot offensively, hitting eight of his first 10 shots and scoring 21 points in the first half. Tatum did it all against a lackluster Magic defense. He was effective from 3-point range and also found plenty of success driving to the basket.
The Magic kept it close nearly the entire game, but Tatum proved too much for Orlando and hit the dagger 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining.
Tatum finished with 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting, giving him 104 points through the first three games of the season, which is a new Celtics record. Larry Bird previously held the C's team record with 96 points over the first three games of a season.
2) Derrick White showing growth offensively
White is a very good defender and capable of being a primary ball-handler with his playmaking abilities. One area he's never excelled in is 3-point shooting. The veteran guard has a career 3-point percentage of 34, and he hasn't been above 34.6 percent in a single season since 2019-20.
However, White has been an excellent long-distance shooter through the first three games of the season. He hit 2-of-4 attempts in Friday night's win over the Miami Heat and he connected on five of his nine 3-point shots in Saturday night's victory against the Magic. White shot 10-of-18 from beyond the arc in the preseason and he's now 7-of-14 in the regular season.
Most of White's damage from the perimeter has come in the corner. With defenses paying so much attention to Tatum and Jaylen Brown, White should get plenty of open looks from 3-point range, especially from the corner. It would be huge for the Celtics if White could hit 37 to 40 percent of these attempts.
White finished with 27 points (his highest total as a Celtic) on 10-of-17 shooting. He was particularly effective in the fourth quarter and scored five points (and took a charge) over the final three minutes to help Boston seal the victory.
3) Celtics' bench plays pivotal role
The Celtics would not have won this game without the scoring contributions from their bench. Boston's bench combined to score 39 points, outscoring the Magic reserves by 18 points.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 13 points, while also chipping in four assists and two rebounds.
Grant Williams also chipped in 13 points and hit all three of his 3-point attempts. Sam Hauser added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. The Celtics bench as a whole shot 8-of-13 from 3-point range.
The Celtics didn't get enough scoring from their bench in their NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors. The addition of Brogdon, Williams' improvement as a shooter, and Hauser's long-range shooting ability all should make Boston a deeper team offensively this season.
Tatum and Brown don't have to play at a superstar level every night for this team to win games.
